Promises Kept
by notenoughpotter
Summary: Post S5 finale. Yep, this is fairly dark. Elena's alone. Where does she go from here?
1. Chapter 1

THIS IS DARK.

Author's notes: No idea how long this will be. I'm just figuring it out as I go along. I'll give you a warning as to when we're getting to the end.

Warnings: Mature, character death, violence, language, alcohol use, adult content

This is the prologue. For those familiar with my writing, my prologues are always short. Later chapters will be longer.

* * *

Damon and Elena.

Elena and Damon.

They'd been together.

And then apart.

And then together.

But even when they were apart…he was still with her. Filling her thoughts and every waking breath.

Because she knew how wrong they were for each other. Toxic. Snake's venom. What they did. What they were doing. What she wanted to do with him.

Was totally…and utterly…and completely wrong.

But they were just even more right.

Light and dark. Hot and cold.

Passion. For life…and for each other.

Even when they fought.

Which was often.

She always knew it would work out. _They _would work out. They would be together again. Her hand would lie against his bare chest, feeling the sheer joy in knowing he was alive and with her.

Because they weren't just together. They were part of each other. Neither fully complete without the other.

And she'd never worried that he'd leave her. Not really leave her. Not totally gone.

Because he'd promised.

On that cold night. The night when everything had gone so horribly wrong. The night Stefan showed just how gone he was. And she thought she was entirely alone.

He'd still come.

He whispered her name, not knowing she could hear him. Then he'd reached down and wrapped his arms around her. Carried her out of the hospital to safety. Because he was her safety.

And then, he knelt down, looked into her eyes, and promised.

Promised to never leave her again.

Promised.

Until he was gone.

And so was she.

* * *

Caroline Forbes ran a hand over the slightly dampened curls in her hair, not sure exactly who she'd meet when she went inside. Not that she really wanted to go inside. The half-falling-down house in front of her didn't exactly inspire a welcoming feeling.

In fact, she wondered if they could have found a more broken-down-looking place to live. Shutters falling off. One window boarded over. The house used to be blue. Or at least the trim was. The walls looked to have once been painted the color of spoiled milk.

Appropriate.

If it rained, the hole in the roof would almost certainly ensure that the people inside the house knew it. Of course, that mean it had to rain. Which it hadn't.

Not in over two months.

Not since that night.

Caroline didn't want to think about what that might mean. Even as the grass around them withered and died around them. Impossibly dry.

Unnaturally dry.

A hot wind howled past, and one of the shingles that always seemed to be just on the verge of escape found its freedom and skidded down the roof, launching itself into the air where a gutter probably used to be.

Not for the first time, part of her wondered if there was a reason Elena and Alaric had chosen this godforsaken place.

No one would find them here. That much was certain.

Few people would dare wading through the waist-high grass. But she had a delivery to make.

Caroline closed her eyes, tried not to think about what might be making the noises in the grass, and ran just a little too quickly to the front door. It was open before she got there.

One benefit of being a vampire. No one really needed to knock. And here, the door was always open. Literally. At least a little bit, since the latch didn't work.

Caroline surveyed the room. Marginally better than outside. The couch was decent. And somehow Jeremy had managed to make sure that the two people he cared most about…who couldn't live with him…had electricity.

That was probably so he'd have something to do when he came over. He had a new Xbox sitting next to the television in the corner of the room. She doubted he came over often, though.

Most people didn't visit a funeral parlor by choice.

"Didn't expect to see you today." Alaric stood next to the cold fireplace. His shirt was wrinkled, and he reeked of bourbon. But his eyes were clear. Definitely an improvement over the last time she visited.

Caroline forced a cheerfulness she didn't feel. "Got a fresh delivery." She patted the cooler at her side. "Mom had to confiscate it. Improper labeling, you know."

Alaric reached out and took the bag with a barely restrained enthusiasm. He hadn't mastered the art of snatch, eat, erase yet. But the one who likely would have been his best teacher was gone.

Caroline hesitated in the foyer, hoping she wouldn't have to ask. That the real reason she'd come would simply walk through the door and save her the discomfort of asking…

"Is Elena here?" Caroline looked at the door in the far corner of the room. Only blackness leaked from inside the room.

"Define here." Alaric answered simply. And confusingly. He looked away from her and stared at the door.

"Is she _here?" _Caroline pointed to the floor. She really didn't need to ask the question. As far as she knew, Elena hadn't left the house since they'd found it. Which is the real reason Caroline provided the delivery.

"Mentally or physically?" Jeremy came from down the single hall in the house. She didn't know he'd been coming over today or she would have sent the blood bags with him.

"You know what I meant." Caroline was tired of word games.

She was tired of _this._ Living but not living. Walking on eggshells. Trying to pretend that everything was the same. That everything would be alright. Trying to still be Mystic Falls' biggest cheerleader.

Because her home was gone. Or at least she couldn't get there. Not if she wanted to stay un-dead.

But her friends were even farther away. She'd leave…but she was the only reason Stefan was even marginally holding himself together. Her two best friends had blinked into non-existence in the wink of an eye.

Bonnie physically.

But Elena even more painfully. Because she was still here. But everything inside her was gone.

"Is she any better?" Caroline eyed the door like it contained a plague.

"Why don't you check? Maybe you can do something."

Something.

Right.

She'd been here every day for the past few months. She sat with an unmoving Elena. Not talking. Barely breathing. Not even showing signs that she'd take the blood bag Caroline delivered.

But each morning, Ric found it empty. So at least she was alive. At least barely.

"Alright." Caroline took a breath. "Hey, Elena. We need to start thinking about your birthday. What kind of party do you want this year. It's next week. I was thinking cookout…" She pushed the door open and froze mid-step.

"What is it?" Jeremy called out from the doorway, taking advantage of Caroline being here to vamp-sit.

Caroline's eyes roamed the room. The bed was made. The clothes were put away. The trash was emptied. The torn lace curtains waved with a ghostly unquiet from the open window.

"Elena's gone."


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: MATURE – character death, alcohol use, drug use, language, violence, angst, Stefan

I'm pleased to see so many people are excited about this story. When I started it, I had no idea where I was really headed, but I have a plan now, and I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you. I think we're looking at about an 8 chapter story here – one chapter each Thursday (except for one week in June when I'll be out of town).

Enjoy!

* * *

"Where do you think she is?" Jeremy stood in the doorway to Elena's room shaking his head. "She was just here."

"No idea." Caroline templed her fingers and took a steadying breath. Turning to Alaric, she tried to keep her voice level. "And you didn't hear her leave?"

Alaric turned a glare toward the ceiling. "Do you know how many times this house creeks in a _minute?" _His thinly-veiled temper was close to cracking. He'd been a time bomb since his return, not having had the opportunity to master the art of being a vampire when things in Mystic Falls were only mildly chaotic – not going-straight-to-hell. He gritted his teeth together and stormed toward the bed. His fingers brushed across the faint indention in the mattress. "Still warm."

Caroline nodded. "That's a good sign. She probably hasn't been able to get too far."

"She's a _vampire_, Caroline." Jeremy acted like that was news to her.

"So am I." Even Caroline was surprised at the steely-edge to her voice.

Jeremy joined Alaric next to the bed, clearly looking for something. His shoulders relaxed when he didn't seem to find it. "Doesn't look like her ring's here."

"That's a good sign." Caroline forced a cheerfulness she didn't feel. Elena had been teetering at the edge of control since everything went wrong three weeks ago. They'd all seen it…and tried to ignore it. Each day she slipped closer to the edge of an invisible cliff. She just hoped today wasn't the day Elena chose to jump. "You don't think?"

"What?" Jeremy interrupted before Caroline could finish. The expression on his face told her that he knew exactly what she was hinting at.

"Think what?" Alaric was still staring out the window, the lines of worry etched so deeply into his face that it looked like someone had used a chisel.

"She wouldn't have…" Caroline didn't want to speak the words into the world.

"Wouldn't have what?" The two men in the room spoke in virtual unison. One looked confused – the other bordering on the same edge of madness his sister had been feeling…that they'd all been feeling, really.

"She wouldn't have turned it off?" Caroline closed her eyes, not wanting to meet Jeremy's terror-filled expression. She had more than enough on her mind today of all days. She didn't need this. Not an Elena breakdown. Not dealing with an untrained vampire. And definitely not having to be the only one who seemed to be remotely in control.

"We can't think like that." Somewhere along the way, the boy had turned into a man. He stood up straight, forcing his hands into his pockets. He'd been spending too much time with Damon…or at least he had. "We just need to find her." He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Caroline felt her eyebrows knit together. She'd been spending too much time with Stefan. Thank goodness vampires didn't get wrinkles.

Jeremy gestured with his phone. "The only person who might know Elena as well as you do."

* * *

"What makes you think she's here?" Caroline trudged through the almost waist-high grass, surprised to find herself barely able to keep up with Matt. The guy had been working out. She stepped onto a tinder-dry branch and stumbled.

"Graceful, Care." Matt offered a hand she didn't need. In the distance, she could hear the others making their way through the clearing. If she could hear them…then Elena could. If Elena was here at all.

"But why here?" Caroline knew her voice sounded demanding. She was tired of being the head cheerleader to this group.

He held a finger to his lips. "I thought we were trying to sneak up on her."

"Sneak up on a vampire, yeah, that'll work." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Tell me why I called you again."

"Because I've known Elena since we were in diapers." The faintest hint of red colored Matt's cheeks. Caroline and Jeremy were more than aware that he knew Elena as well as anyone here right now. "But why didn't we invite Stefan to this little search party?"

Caroline shook her head. This wasn't the time to start discussing Stefan. He might have been the only person in Mystic Falls taking Damon being missing worse than Elena. This wasn't a good time to be his sobriety sponsor. "Because Stefan doesn't need anything else on his mind."

They reached the clearing. _The _clearing. The clearing where Tyler just might have discovered he was human. The clearing where Alaric stepped back into life. The clearing where Elena last spoke to Stefan.

"She's not here." Tyler shook his head, walking up from the opposite side of the woods.

"I didn't say she'd be here." Matt pointed to the ground before swinging his finger up toward a stone building almost completely hidden in the shadows. Even in the bright, afternoon light, it wasn't easily seen. "She's in there."

"You're sure?" Alaric didn't seem convinced.

Matt nodded once. "It's where she told him goodbye."

In that moment, no one seemed to know what to do next. Matt looked at Caroline. Caroline looked at Jeremy. Tyler looked anywhere other than another person. Finally, Alaric stepped forward.

But he didn't need to go far.

"What are you all doing here?" Elena stepped out of the shadows, rivers of dirt smeared down her cheeks. She rested a hand on the doorframe. Her fingers were shaking.

"Looking for you." Jeremy didn't waste words.

"What are _you _doing here?" Caroline approached with the same care she'd take with an injured pet. "How are you feeling, Elena?" _God, please let her be feeling something._

Elena's brown eyes roamed over the clearing, a hint of barely-concealed madness in the erratic movements. "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Tyler turned his head as if he were missing something.

"Something's not right." Elena spun and looked behind herself like a wild animal was stalking her. She ran through the door and into the middle of the clearing. Thankfully, her ring was still soundly on her finger.

Jeremy took a step toward her, holding out his hands to show they were empty. "Elena, it's going to be okay."

"Don't talk to me like that." She spat back at him.

"Like what?" Jeremy seemed the older sibling in that moment.

"Like I'm crazy." Elena jerked her fingers through her tangled hair. She rounded on Caroline in desperation. "Something's wrong. Something's wrong. I _promise _something's wrong. I can feel it. It's like bees buzzing around my head." She reached her hand out, only to jerk back like her fingers touched a hot stove. "Don't you feel it?"

"Elena." An unexpected voice surprised them from the trail where Caroline, Matt, and Jeremy had just arrived. "You have to let him go." Stefan stepped into the light at the center of the clearing.

"No. No, I don't." She shook her head, taking a step away from him.

"He's gone, Elena." Stefan insisted.

"Like you were gone? Or Jeremy? Or you?" She spun, standing almost face-to-face with Alaric. Reaching down, she grabbed a handful of dirt and rocks. "We buried you…all of you." She gestured with the dead grass. "You were under the ground. So don't tell me about people being gone. Caroline, something's wrong. Think! Tomorrow's your birthday. What happened on your sweet 16?"

"We were supposed to have a picnic."

"But?" Elena prompted.

"But it rained."

"And what about your tenth birthday?" Elena stared at Caroline with an intensity that was almost frightening.

"We were camping out, but then the campground flooded."

"And your eighth?"

"We spent it in the basement of the bowling alley because there was a tornado warning."

"I didn't even know that place had a basement." Matt laughed, trying to diffuse the building tension.

"It rained. Almost every year on your birthday. Caroline, don't you see? It hasn't rained in this whole month."

"The guy on the news said it was the worst drought we've had in a century." Tyler added.

"It's not natural. Something's not right. The spell. Something broke." Elena's words became more choppy and her breathing came in uneven spurts. "Damn it, don't you people understand?" She threw the handful of stones and grass as hard as she could for emphasis.

"It happens, Elena." Stefan took a hesitant step in her direction.

"No it doesn't!" She shook her head. Stefan reached out for her, and she shot out of his reach. "Don't touch me." Her eyes narrowed, and the veins around her eyes flared. "You promised me."

The words shot into Stefan like a knife. "It was an accident. She was falling, I tried to help." He took a step back, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"It doesn't matter. You told her to send me back. I saw you nod. And you left him." Her breathing became more shallow, her eyes more frenzied. "He's gone. He's gone. He's…gone." Each word was more heart-breakingly accented. It was as if she was experiencing the loss for the first time. "Damon's gone. And I have to find him. "

Alaric's eyes squeezed closed in pain. "Elena. How long has it been since you slept?"

Elena's eyes pooled with tear, and she turned away. "I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I can hear him." She circled back, staring at Alaric in confusion. "But I can't understand what he's saying. Do you know what he's saying?" Her words became more and more desperate.

The air grew heavy around the group as they watched Elena disintegrate before their eyes.

"Please, Ric, tell me you hear him too."

He swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry Elena."

"And see. That's something else. Because it's not right. It all started here. Something's wrong." She gulped for air. "Can't. You. Feel. It?" Elena lunged in Caroline's direction.

But Stefan moved in a blur. One minute he was feet away from her, and the next, he'd struck from behind. Her eyes wide with betrayal, she collapsed into Jeremy's arms.

"What the hell was that for Stefan?" Matt turned an accusing eye on the syringe in Stefan's hand.

"I heard you talking on the phone with Jeremy." Stefan looked away from Alaric as he lifted Elena into his arms. "I knew she was gone. I thought we might need this."

"But why?" Jeremy appeared to be on the verge of losing control of his desire to kill vampires.

"Because we were going to lose her. Because she was going to turn it off." He shook his head, turning his back on the others. "And because Damon's not here to bring her back."

* * *

"Elena!" Damon startled awake, her name on his lips. She was screaming. That was new. At least she wasn't crying…or sobbing for him…or pleading with him to come back. That's why he didn't sleep any longer. Or at least he tried not to. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face.

But hearing her was worse.

He leaned forward, resting his forehead on his fingertips. "I thought hell would be…hotter."

"We're not in hell, Damon." Bonnie sounded sluggish.

They might well as be, because Damon couldn't think of anything worse. He'd rather be tossed into a pit of fire than to hear Elena pleading for him and not be able to do anything about it.

He'd promised.

"You ready to get up?" Bonnie was already standing up, brushing non-existent dust from her clothes. She was still wearing the same clothes as she'd arrived in. Apart from the damage they'd received that last night, they were no worse for the wear.

Probably because there was nothing here. Wherever here was.

No dust. No grass. No water.

Nothing.

Nothing but white…everywhere.

And they'd looked.

Damn, they'd looked. Of course, keeping track of where they'd been while surrounded by a vast, white field of nothing wasn't an easy task. So they walked. They walked straight until they couldn't walk any longer.

And then they slept. Or at least Bonnie did.

"Which way do you want to go today?" Bonnie looked expectantly at him like he'd be able to pull a rabbit out of a non-existent hat. Too bad he left all his hats at home.

Still, standing here wasn't getting them any closer to finding a way out of here. Wherever here was. "We went forward yesterday. Left the day before that."

Bonnie nodded her agreement.

"So, right?"

"Right."

She started walking. And kept walking. And walked some more. At least they didn't get thirsty. Or hungry. Sleep was the only vaguely human need they seemed to have.

"Do you think there's really a way out?" The expression on her face told him what she thought.

"Lots of people were pulled out of the other side, right?"

"I saw them." She chewed her lip, a hint of fear washing over her face.

"They're not here." He motioned to the rest of wherever they were. "That means we didn't go where they are."

"And how does that help us?" She made the transition into the second part of their day. Once they'd walked for a while, they started speculating…or arguing…or speculating while arguing.

Anything was better than being along with their thoughts.

"No idea." Damon was a realist. But he was also determined to find a way out. So they kept walking.

They lapsed into silence again. Damon hated the silence. Every word of his last real conversation with Elena came back to him. What if he'd done what she wanted? What if he hadn't gone back? Couldn't they have….

And that's when he heard it.

A tiny thud. No louder than a cat pouncing on a mouse.

A thump and a roll.

"Did you hear that?" Bonnie looked up at him just as he stared down at her. They turned back in unison in the direction of the noise.

_Damn._

Two quick steps and he was there. He bent down, and his fingers closed around it. A rock. A real, honest-to-goodness, dirt-covered rock.

"Is that?" Bonnie squinted her eyes like she didn't think it was real.

Damon squeezed the stone as if his life depended on it. "It's not just a rock." He inhaled, smelling the earth…and sunshine…and the woodsy smell he'd grown up with while he wandered through the woods in Mystic Falls. "It means there's a way out."


End file.
